KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) commemorated the 78th Independence Day of Pakistan with a ceremony where Governor Jameel Ahmad hoisted the national flag.
In his keynote address, he said that Pakistan was heading towards economic stability and sustainable growth.
The Governor noted that the SBP adopted a series of measures aimed at curbing inflation. These efforts paid off, with inflation dropping to 11.8 per cent by May 2024 and to a historic low of 3.2 per cent by June 2025. He said that SBP responded to improving inflation outlook by reducing the policy rate in seven gradual steps, from 22 per cent to 11 per cent, since June 2024.
‘Our monetary policy remains geared towards maintaining the hard-earned gains in price stability, while ensuring inflation remains within 5–7 per cent,’ he said. ‘This will help unlock broader economic and business opportunities. ’
Mr. Ahmad noted external sector improvements and shared that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have nearly tripled, rising from USD 4.4 billion at the end of FY23 to USD 14.5 billion by the end of FY25. He said that ‘A current account surplus of USD 2.1 billion – the first in 14 years – and record-high remittances of USD 38.3 billion from overseas Pakistanis have significantly contributed to this improvement. ’
He also noted that SBP has endeavoured to build foreign exchange reserves to improve economic resilience against external shocks. He added that the buildup of reserves has been achieved without any increase in foreign debt. International credit rating agencies have upgraded Pakistan’s ratings in recognition of recent measures, which will help unlock foreign investment opportunities.
Governor Ahmad highlighted SBP’s digital initiatives, including the spinning off of Raast – Pakistan’s instant payment system – into a separate subsidiary to enhance service offerings for the adoption of digital payments. In addition, SBP has taken a number of measures to modernise the payment infrastructure to enable the public to transact and remit funds through state-of-the-art facilities. He also said that SBP has recently introduced an improved account-opening framework that allows account opening without the need to visit a bank branch. This will benefit the public, especially women.
